Inequalities by Income in the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease and Its Risk Factors in the Adult Population of Catalonia

Background Understanding the magnitude of cardiovascular disease (CVD) inequalities is the first step toward addressing them. The linkage of socioeconomic and clinical data in universal health care settings provides critical information to characterize CVD inequalities. Methods and Results We employed a prospective cohort design using electronic health records data from all residents of Catalonia aged 18+ between January and December of 2019 (N=6 332 228). We calculated age-adjusted sex-specific prevalence of 5 CVD risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and smoking), and 4 CVDs (coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure). We categorized income into high, moderate, low, and very low according to individual income (tied to prescription copayments) and receipt of welfare support. We found large inequalities in CVD and CVD risk factors among men and women. CVD risk factors with the largest inequalities were diabetes, smoking, and obesity, with prevalence rates 2- or 3-fold higher for those with very low (versus high) income. CVDs with the largest inequalities were cerebrovascular disease and heart failure, with prevalence rates 2 to 4 times higher for men and women with very low (versus high) income. Inequalities varied by age, peaking at midlife (30-50 years) for most diseases, while decreasing gradually with age for smoking. Conclusions We found wide and heterogeneous inequalities by income in 5 CVD risk factors and 4 CVD. Our findings in a region with a high-quality public health care system and universal coverage stress that strong equity-promoting policies are necessary to reduce disparities in CVD

Performance of comprehensive risk adjustment for the prediction of in-hospital events using administrative healthcare data: The queralt indices

Background: Accurate risk adjustment is crucial for healthcare management and benchmarking. Purpose: We aimed to compare the performance of classic comorbidity functions (Charlson's and Elixhauser's), of the All Patients Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRG), and of the Queralt Indices, a family of novel, comprehensive comorbidity indices for the prediction of key clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients. Material and Methods: We conducted an observational, retrospective cohort study using administrative healthcare data from 156,459 hospital discharges in Catalonia (Spain) during 2018. Study outcomes were in-hospital death, long hospital stay, and intensive care unit (ICU) stay. We evaluated the performance of the following indices: Charlson's and Elixhauser's functions, Queralt's Index for secondary hospital discharge diagnoses (Queralt DxS), the overall Queralt's Index, which includes pre-existing comorbidities, in-hospital complications, and principal discharge diagnosis (Queralt Dx), and the APR-DRG. Discriminative ability was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC), and measures of goodness of fit were also computed. Subgroup analyses were conducted by principal discharge diagnosis, by age, and type of admission. Results: Queralt DxS provided relevant risk adjustment information in a larger number of patients compared to Charlson's and Elixhauser's functions, and outperformed both for the prediction of the 3 study outcomes. Queralt Dx also outperformed Charlson's and Elixhauser's indices, and yielded superior predictive ability and goodness of fit compared to APR-DRG (AUC for in-hospital death 0.95 for Queralt Dx, 0.77- 0.93 for all other indices; for ICU stay 0.84 for Queralt Dx, 0.73- 0.83 for all other indices). The performance of Queralt DxS was at least as good as that of the APR-DRG in most principal discharge diagnosis subgroups. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that risk adjustment should go beyond pre-existing comorbidities and include principal discharge diagnoses and in-hospital complications. Validation of comprehensive risk adjustment tools such as the Queralt indices in other settings is needed

Older adult preferences regarding benefits and harms of statin and aspirin therapy for cardiovascular primary prevention

OBJECTIVE Personalizing preventive therapies for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is particularly important for older adults, as they tend to have multiple chronic conditions, increased risk for medication adverse effects, and may have heterogenous preferences when weighing health outcomes. However, little is known about outcome preferences related to ASCVD preventive therapies in older adults. METHODS In May 2021, using an established online panel, KnowledgePanel, we surveyed older US adults aged 65-84 years without history of ASCVD on outcome preferences related to statin therapy (benefit outcomes to be reduced by the therapy: heart attack, stroke; adverse effects: diabetes, abnormal liver test, muscle pain) or aspirin therapy (benefit outcomes: heart attack, stroke; adverse effects: brain bleed, bowel bleed, stomach ulcer). We used standardized best-worst scores (range of -1 for "least worrisome" to +1 for "most worrisome") and conditional logistic regression to examine the relative importance of the outcomes. RESULTS In this study, 607 ASCVD-free participants (median age 74, 46% male, 81% White) were included; 304 and 303 completed the statin and aspirin versions of the survey, respectively. For statin-related outcomes, stroke and heart attack were most worrisome (score 0.55; 95% CI 0.51, 0.60) and (0.53; 0.48, 0.58), followed by potential harms of diabetes (-0.07; -0.10, -0.03), abnormal liver test (-0.25; -0.29, -0.20), and muscle pain (-0.77; -0.82, -0.73). For aspirin-related outcomes, stroke and heart attack were similarly most worrisome (0.48; 0.43, 0.52) and (0.43; 0.38, 0.48), followed by brain bleed (0.30; 0.25, 0.34), bowel bleed (-0.31; -0.33, -0.28), and stomach ulcer (-0.90; -0.92, -0.87). Conditional logistic regression and subgroup analyses by age, sex, and race yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS Older adults generally consider outcomes related to benefits of ASCVD primary preventive therapies-stroke and heart attack-more important than their adverse effects. Integrating patient preferences with risk assessment is an important next step for personalizing ASCVD preventive therapies for older adults

PAKistan Study of prEmature coronary atHerosclerosis in young AdulTs (PAK-SEHAT): A prospective longitudinal study protocol investigating the prevalence, severity and determinants of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the young adult Pakistani population

Introduction: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a major cause of morbidity, mortality and health expenditures worldwide. Despite having higher ASCVD in the Pakistani population, data on subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in young Pakistanis remain scarce. The PAKistan Study of prEmature coronary atHerosclerosis in young AdulTs (PAK-SEHAT) aims to assess the prevalence, severity and determinants of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis among Pakistani men (35-60 years) and women (35-65 years) free of clinically symptomatic ASCVD and will assess 5-year rates of ASCVD events.Methods and analysis: PAK-SEHAT is an ongoing prospective cohort study with 2000 participants from all provinces of Pakistan who will be interviewed at the baseline along with phlebotomy, measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Phlebotomy will be repeated at 2.5 years, whereas CIMT and CCTA will be repeated at 5 years. We will report the frequency of maximal coronary stenosis ≥50% and ≥70%, number of coronary vessels with plaque and the number of coronary segments affected per participant on CCTA. We will use Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the association between baseline characteristics and incident ASCVD events during follow-up. These associations will be presented as HRs with 95% CIs.Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol was approved by the Tabba Heart Institute Institutional Review Board (THI/IRB/FQ/22-09-2021/016). All study procedures are consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Trial registration number: NCT05156736

Identification and management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in south Asian populations in the U.S.

South Asians (SAs, individuals with ancestry from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) are among the fastest growing ethnic subgroups in the United States. SAs typically experience a high prevalence of diabetes, abdominal obesity, and hypertension, among other cardiovascular disease risk factors, which are often under recognized and undermanaged. The excess coronary heart disease risk in this growing population must be critically assessed and managed with culturally appropriate preventive services. Accordingly, this scientific document prepared by a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and investigators in cardiology, internal medicine, pharmacy, and SA-centric researchers describes key characteristics of traditional and nontraditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, compares and contrasts available risk assessment tools, discusses the role of blood-based biomarkers and coronary artery calcium to enhance risk assessment and prevention strategies, and provides evidenced-based approaches and interventions that may reduce coronary heart disease disparities in this higher-risk population

Validity of ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes used to identify acute liver injury: a study in three European data sources

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Forns, J. [et al.]. Validity of ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes used to identify acute liver injury: a study in three European data sources. "Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety", 6 Juny 2019, vol. 28, núm. 7, p. 965-975, which has been published in final form at 10.1002/pds.4803. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."Purpose Validating cases of acute liver injury (ALI) in health care data sources is challenging. Previous validation studies reported low positive predictive values (PPVs). Methods Case validation was undertaken in a study conducted from 2009 to 2014 assessing the risk of ALI in antidepressants users in databases in Spain (EpiChron and SIDIAP) and the Danish National Health Registers. Three ALI definitions were evaluated: primary (specific hospital discharge codes), secondary (specific and nonspecific hospital discharge codes), and tertiary (specific and nonspecific hospital and outpatient codes). The validation included review of patient profiles (EpiChron and SIDIAP) and of clinical data from medical records (EpiChron and Denmark). ALI cases were confirmed when liver enzyme values met a definition by an international working group. Results Overall PPVs (95% CIs) for the study ALI definitions were, for the primary ALI definition, 84% (60%-97%) (EpiChron), 60% (26%-88%) (SIDIAP), and 74% (60%-85%) (Denmark); for the secondary ALI definition, 65% (45%-81%) (EpiChron), 40% (19%-64%) (SIDIAP), and 70% (64%-77%) (Denmark); and for the tertiary ALI definition, 25% (18%-34%) (EpiChron), 8% (7%-9%) (SIDIAP), and 47% (42%-52%) (Denmark). The overall PPVs were higher for specific than for nonspecific codes and for hospital discharge than for outpatient codes. The nonspecific code “unspecified jaundice” had high PPVs in Denmark. Conclusions PPVs obtained apply to patients using antidepressants without preexisting liver disease or ALI risk factors. To maximize validity, studies on ALI should prioritize hospital specific discharge codes and should include hospital codes for unspecified jaundice. Case validation is required when ALI outpatient cases are considered.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

All-cause and cause-specific mortality in individuals with zero and minimal coronary artery calcium: A long-term, competing risk analysis in the Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium.

Background and aimsThe long-term associations between zero, minimal coronary artery calcium (CAC) and cause-specific mortality are currently unknown, particularly after accounting for competing risks with other causes of death.MethodsWe evaluated 66,363 individuals from the CAC Consortium (mean age 54 years, 33% women), a multi-center, retrospective cohort study of asymptomatic individuals undergoing CAC scoring for clinical risk assessment. Baseline evaluations occurred between 1991 and 2010.ResultsOver a mean of 12 years of follow-up, individuals with CAC = 0 (45% prevalence, mean age 45 years) had stable low rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) death, cardiovascular disease (CVD) death (ranging 0.32 to 0.43 per 1000 person-years), and all-cause death (1.38-1.62 per 1000 person-years). Cancer was the predominant cause of death in this group, yet rates were also very low (0.47-0.79 per 1000 person-years). Compared to CAC = 0, individuals with CAC 1-10 had an increased multivariable-adjusted risk of CVD death only under age 40. Individuals with CAC>10 had multivariable-adjusted increased risks of CHD death, CVD death and all-cause death at all ages, and a higher proportion of CVD deaths.ConclusionsCAC = 0 is a frequent finding among individuals undergoing CAC scanning for risk assessment and is associated with low rates of all-cause death at 12 years of follow-up. Our results support the emerging consensus that CAC = 0 represents a unique population with favorable all-cause prognosis who may be considered for more flexible treatment goals in primary prevention. Detection of any CAC in young adults could be used to trigger aggressive preventive interventions

Real-World Epidemiology of Potassium Derangements Among Chronic Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Renal Conditions: A Population-Based Analysis

Background: The aims of the present analysis are to estimate the prevalence of five key chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and renal conditions at the population level, the prevalence of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor (RAASI) medication use and the magnitude of potassium (K+) derangements among RAASI users. Methods and Results: We used data from more than 375,000 individuals, 55 years of age or older, included in the population-based healthcare database of the Catalan Institute of Health between 2015 and 2017. The conditions of interest were chronic heart failure (CHF), chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease and hypertension. RAASI medications included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) and renin inhibitors. Hyperkalemia was defined as K+ levels >5.0 mEq/L and hypokalemia as K+ <3.5 mEq/L. The prevalence of chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and renal conditions was high, and particularly that of hypertension (prevalence ranging from 48.2% to 48.9%). The use of at least one RAASI medication was almost ubiquitous in these patients (75.2-77.3%). Among RAASI users, the frequency of K+ derangements, mainly of hyperkalemia, was very noticeable (12% overall), particularly in patients with CKD or CHF, elderly individuals and users of MRAs. Hypokalemia was less frequent (1%). Conclusion: The high prevalence of K+ derangements, and particularly hyperkalemia, among RAASI users highlights the real-world relevance of K+ derangements, and the importance of close monitoring and management of K+ levels in routine clinical practice. This is likely to benefit a large number of patients, particularly those at higher risk